365 Reflections

Ezekiel is told the land will be devoured and the people thrown down or thrown out. The end has come, and there's no turning back on God's plan and purpose. To illustrate, the Lord references three righteous men who, if they had lived in this time, would have only escaped by themselves.  Ezekiel 14:12–14 (ESV) And the word of the LORD came to me: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD. The Lord repeated this stipulation three more times in the chapter to cover the four judgments on the land.  Famine would follow the ravaging of animals, then sword and pestilence.  Ezekiel 14:21–22 (ESV) “For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous...

Thus far in 2 Samuel, those who were in Saul's camp have proven to be anything but loyal. Consider how much betrayal exists in the first four chapters of 2 Samuel. First was the Amalekite who killed Saul and thought himself righteous for it. David put him to death. Then there was Abner's manipulative support for Ish-Bosheth. He eventually was offended and turned on him. Now, two more men prove to be opportunistic and vengeful as they put Ish-Bosheth to death. 2 Samuel 4:5–6 (ESV) Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest. 6 And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. This murder is incredibly diabolical. They came to Ish-Bosheth under false pretenses, then while he was unarmed and resting they brutally murdered him in cold blood. After this, they see...

1 Samuel 2:17–18 (ESV) Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord , for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. 18 Samuel was ministering before the Lord , a boy clothed with a linen ephod. The first two chapters of Samuel provide a theme for the rest of the narrative. In the midst of corrupt political power, God is raising up His servants to faithfully obey Him and establish His kingdom on the Earth. I can't think of a more important truth for Christian service in any age. Consider Hannah's fervent prayer in chapter one amidst the ignorance, arrogance, and indifference to her struggle from all those around her (her rival wife, arrogant Eli and indifferent Elkanah). Now her son will be placed in a situation much like her own. Samuel will grow up in the Temple. But this Temple is far removed from Aaron's priesthood. The priesthood is corrupt and Eli's family was fragmented. His sons are wicked and will not listen to hi...

Deuteronomy 9:4–5 (ESV)   “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. 5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Israel is a blessing to our lives in many ways we do not understand. One of the ways is how Israel serves as a real life parable for the nations that God, not us, is the faithful One who keeps His PROMISES. Thankfully, He does not depend upon our actions to do what He said He would do.  Israel would be taught by Moses that God is acting in response to the ...

Deuteronomy 8:2–5 (ESV) And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. The root of discipleship is discipline. A disciple is one who is disciplined by certain events SO THAT they might do more important certain events. A soldier disciplines his body to run, crawl, hike, aim, shoot and press on in challenging circumstances. A musician practices rudimentary disciplines by re...

You are going to be disturbed by the contents of Numbers 31 if you don't understand ancient cultures and how to read the Bible. In this chapter, Moses is commanded by God to take vengeance on the Midianites for how they turned Israel from the Lord at Peor in Numbers 25. We remember that episode ended with Phinehas' zeal taking out the rebellious man and his Midianite concubine in one stab of spear. During the conquest upon the Midianites God instructs Israel to carry out their first "holy war" as defined by theologians. This kind of war involved total elimination of a culture. Men, women, everyone and everything... except for one group of people. The people carry out only a portion of those commands and they let the women live. Moses' response? Read for yourself: Numbers 31:15–20 (ESV) Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of ...

Numbers 16:43–47 (ESV) And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. In this strange moment we see something revealed through Moses to teach us about Jesus. Incredibly, after the Earth opens and swallows the rebels from the beginning of this chapter, the people of Israel have the audacity to complain against Moses for "killing" the Lord's people. How unreal.  The Lord ...

The Sabbath regulation is one of the key repeated themes in the book of Exodus. From the moment of their deliverance, God reveals the Sabbath in providing bread for 6 days and not the seventh in Exodus 16. Then the 4th Commandment pertains to keeping the day of rest as holy to the Lord. The command is repeated after the specifications are laid out for building the tabernacle to Moses on the mountain of God in Exodus 31. In Exodus 34, God speaks of the Sabbath shortly after the Golden Calf incident and the re-affirmation of His Covenant with Israel. Now again, here in the beginning of Exodus 35, the Sabbath is commanded! This time reinforced by Moses himself. Exodus 35:1–3 (ESV) Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord . Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. ...

Hurst will happen. We cannot avoid them. Psalm 94 is a call for the God of vengeance to do something about the harm being done to His people: Psalm 94:1–2 (ESV) 1 O Lord , God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! 2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve! Psalm 94:5–7 (ESV) 5 They crush your people, O Lord , and afflict your heritage. 6 They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless; 7 and they say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.” Some people are awful. We see them in the middle east and on the streets of America's cities. People who don't give a care about God and act like His rule is a myth. They can drive us crazy if we let them. Psalm 94 is a better response. Instead of getting mad at those who do wrong, pray for the Lord of vengeance to shine forth, rise up and judge. There's a reason why God's vengeance is called for. Because we tend toward R...

You ever take time to thank God just for being who He has decided to be? That's what Psalm 75 is. Psalm 75:1 (ESV) We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. No petition, no thankfulness for what God has individually brought about in the Psalmist's life. Just acknowledgement that God is holy and just in every way. That there is no help apart from Him. That He is going to bring recompense on the wicked and shelter to those who hid in Him. God is in charge: Psalm 75:6–7 (ESV) 6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. And then almost as soon as it starts... the Psalm ends with more praise: Psalm 75:9–10 (ESV) 9 But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righ...

How can you NOT love this verse? Psalm 65:3 (ESV)   When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Or in the New Living Translation: Psalm 65:3 (NLT)  Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all. I know I'm not the only one who sometimes feels like I'm fighting a losing battle with sin. It can feel heavy and defeating. You turn to Romans 7 and read the Apostle Paul to make sure he actually did say what he did say: Romans 7:15 (ESV) For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:24 (ESV) Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? There will be times, Christian, when sin seems to win. But the good news of the Bible is ultimately sin doesn't win. If that weren't the case, there would be no hope for us. But because of Jesus who triumphed over our sins and death on the Cross, we have certain victory for today and to...

Psalm 37 presents two realities side by side... the righteous and the wicked. The Psalmist reveals he speaks from a vast reserve of experience: Psalm 37:25–26 (ESV) I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. He basically says, "trust me in this, I've seen it with my own eyes... the wicked do not last, the righteous are upheld by the Lord." The question for us is, will we take his advice?  Four Proverbs are given in the beginning by which to live: Psalm 37:3   Trust in the Lord , and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  The first thing we do is do what is good trusting the Lord to be faithful on our behalf. Psalm 37:4   Delight yourself in the  Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Second we delight in the Lord. It isn't delight in our desires, but first deli...

Faced with accusations and evil intentions from his enemies, David turns to the Lord and His presence. He speaks profound if not fearful words for many of us. Psalm 26:1–3 (ESV) Vindicate me, O Lord , for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. 2 Prove me, O Lord , and try me; test my heart and my mind. 3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. What a prayer! To walk before the Lord with this kind of confidence seems unimaginable. But notice, it is not before the Lord he's walking but before people. That is, in this particular case, David knows he hasn't done wrong.  He says to the Lord, "I have walked in my integrity" because... "I walk in your faithfulness."  God's faithful love should produce a change in character when people attack and malign us. His faithfulness toward His people produces an uprightness the world cannot know or understand. The Lord mak...

Revelation 22:10–11 (ESV) And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” This is a strange verse in the last chapter of the Bible.  It is not saying we should just continue in evil. No. That would be to miss the entire message of the Bible! It is referring to the time of Christ's return. That Christ will return so quickly, there will be no chance for repentance and change. The funny thing about Christ's return is simply this: When it happens, it's over. There's no going back and trying to fix it. He's coming and justice is coming with Him. He will reward each one and judge each one accordingly. What are we to do? We are to make certain now that we are walking in the righteousness and holiness of Christ. We are to aim for holy and righteous living because of His soon return....

It is well known in Bible circles the phrase, "It is God's to avenge." It comes from Romans 12:19 which quotes it from Deuteronomy 32:35. God has been saying this to us for a long time. The reason why we are not to take revenge is because when God does it - we will be commanded to rejoice: In Revelation, when harlot Babylon is destroyed, this is God's command to his martyred saints: Revelation 18:20 (ESV) 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” It may seem strange to rejoice over the collapse of anything. But to feel uncomfortable about it is proof you might not be aware of the damage sexual immorality and overabundance of prideful wealth can do to a nation...  Revelation 18:3 (ESV)   For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth hav...

The depravity of mankind is overtly evident in Revelation 16. Judgment after judgment from God upon the Earth and all the inhabitants keep doing is turning away from Him or cursing Him in anger. These people who hated God's prophets and saints are getting what God deems appropriate. So records John: Revelation 16:5–7 (ESV) And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” God is just. He is not going to let the murderers and destroyers get away with their abominable acts. We can take comfort from Revelation in this fact. The Bible is a long story of the sad state of sin brought upon the world by Adam and Eve. But the end is sweet redemption and justice. The justice of God is the...

Jesus said follow me. He calls us all into discipleship to become more like Him, our Master, Savior and Lord.  But many Christians avoid a whole segment of Jesus' character because they don't want to stick out, be "offensive" or disturb the status quo. Jesus made waves on regular occasion and no greater evidence of that than in John 2 (ironically after turning water to wine). John 2:14–15 (ESV)   In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. For as much as we do not hear about the "fun" Jesus, we also seldom hear about the violently angry Jesus. And rarely is this  the Jesus many of us seek to emulate. This is the Jesus that is unafraid to take on evil and corruption vocally and with physical demonstrati...

I've always been intrigued with Simeon in the Temple in Luke 2.  An old man described as "righteous and devout" who hoped for the "consolation of Israel."  I even wrote a play for him one Christmas! But I love how poetically Luke brings the Trinity together in Simeon's reception of Jesus. Luke 2:27–28 (ESV) And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, This righteous man had three things happen as an example of how to be a righteous man before God: 1. He was led by the Spirit into the temple to meet Jesus. The Spirit draws a man to Jesus.  A man is not a man until he has met the man Jesus.   2. He held on to Jesus. Perhaps weakened from age.  Since he was ready to die after this moment.  But he holds on to Jesus.  When life is treating you rotten, hold on to Jesus.  He is the o...

2 Timothy 2:20–21 (ESV) Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. The ball is in our court.  I think we can forget about that at times.  God does sanctify us but we have the responsibility to take part in that process as well.  The word "if" here is a big one.  If you cleanse yourself from the things of this world, then you will be useful to the master.  So many see Christianity as a free ride to heaven.  It's more than getting to heaven.  It's about life here as God intended.  And there are people in the great house of God who have yet to experience God's best because they never clean their life. Paul is talking to Timothy, a preacher.  He's sayin...

Some of us are looking for the inimal requiresment to get into heaven without it upsetting the plans we have for our lives. One such example is the Rich Ruler in Matthew 19. Matthew 19:16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "Which ones?" - now that is a funny question. When Jesus says keep the commandments, isn't it clear to keep all of them?  Yet he wanted to know what can I do minimally and still be good with God? Of course Jesus lists the commandments he's confident to have kep...